
An Occasional Table is one that is multi-purposed and is brought into a room when needed. It can serve a multitude of purposes, typically an 18th-century table such as a silver table or a tripod table could be brought into the room for serving tea. It would support the tea accouterments and be removed to a less central position afterward.
An occasional table is neither a centre table which is slightly larger in diameter and scale nor an end table, which is far lower in scale and typically a 19th / 20th-century development beside a settee.